U.S. patent number 4,203,621 [Application Number 05/938,498] was granted by the patent office on 1980-05-20 for lock in particular for an automobile vehicle.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Compagnie Industrielle de Mecanismes. Invention is credited to Jean P. Noel, Marcel Party.
United States Patent |
4,203,621 |
Noel , et al. |
May 20, 1980 |
Lock in particular for an automobile vehicle
Abstract
The lock is of the type comprising a pivotal fork member movable
between an unlocking position towards which it is biased
resiliently and a locking position. A detent means is carried by an
arm of a pivotal first lever which has two arms and is movable
between a retaining position and a releasing position relative to a
projecting portion of said fork member and biased towards the
releasing position by an unlocking force exerted on the fork
member. A second lever is mounted to pivot between a first
position, towards which it is returned resiliently and in which it
locks an end of the second arm of the first lever when the first
lever is in its retaining position, and a second position in which
it releases said end and towards which it can be shifted. The fork
member comprises two successive locking projecting portions and
there is provided a cam surface which is cooperative with a
projecting portion of the second lever so as to cause the second
lever to temporarily move to its second position when the second
projecting portion of the fork member approaches the detent means
in the course of the locking movement of the fork member.
Inventors: |
Noel; Jean P. (Saint-Die,
FR), Party; Marcel (Saint-Die, FR) |
Assignee: |
Compagnie Industrielle de
Mecanismes (FR)
|
Family
ID: |
26220210 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/938,498 |
Filed: |
August 31, 1978 |
Foreign Application Priority Data
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Sep 12, 1977 [FR] |
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77 27497 |
Jul 18, 1978 [FR] |
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78 21260 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
292/216 |
Current CPC
Class: |
E05B
85/26 (20130101); Y10T 292/1047 (20150401) |
Current International
Class: |
E05B
65/32 (20060101); E05C 003/26 () |
Field of
Search: |
;292/336,216,DIG.24,DIG.25,DIG.26 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Moore; Richard E.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Holman & Stern
Claims
Having now described our invention what we claim as new and desire
to secure by Letters Patent is:
1. A lock, in particular for an opening element of an automobile,
comprising a pivotal fork member which has a projecting portion and
is movable between an unlocking position and a locking position,
means combined with the fork member for resiliently biasing the
fork member to the unlocking position thereof, detent means carried
by an arm of a pivotal first lever having a first arm and a second
arm and movable between a retaining position and a releasing
position relative to said projecting portion of the fork member and
means for biasing the pivotal lever towards its releasing position
by an effect of an unlocking force exerted on the fork member, and
a second lever mounted to pivot between a first position and a
second position, means for resiliently biasing the second lever
towards its first position, the second lever being capable of
blocking an end of the second arm of the first lever in the first
position of the second lever when the first lever is in the
retaining position of the first lever, and the second lever being
capable of releasing said end of the second arm in the second
position of the second lever, means operatively connected to the
second lever for shifting the second lever to the second position
of the second lever, the fork member comprising two successive
projecting portions, the fork member carrying means defining a cam
surface, the second lever having a projecting portion with which
projecting portion the cam surface is cooperative so as to cause
the second lever to move temporarily to the second position of the
second lever when the second projecting portion of the fork member
approaches the detent means in the course of a locking movement of
the fork member.
2. A lock as claimed in claim 1, wherein the second lever comprises
a ramp engageable with the end of the second arm so as to bias the
first lever to the retaining position of the first lever and means
defining a second cam surface cooperative with said projecting
portion of the second lever so as to cause the second lever to move
temporarily to the second position of the second lever when the
first projecting portion of the fork approaches the detent means in
the course of the locking movement of the fork member.
3. A lock as claimed in claim 1, or 2, wherein the first lever is
freely rotatable.
4. A lock as claimed in any one of the claims 1 to 3, wherein the
first lever is adapted in such manner as to gear down the force
that it transmits to the second lever relative to that to which the
detent means is subjected.
5. A lock as claimed in claim 1, wherein each projecting portion of
the fork member is constituted by a branch of the fork member.
6. A lock as claimed in any one of the claims 1 to 2, wherein the
second lever is engaged substantially radially by the second arm in
the locking position of the lock.
7. A lock as claimed in claim 6, wherein the force exerted by the
second arm on the second lever passes to one side of the axis of
pivoting of the second lever so as to tend to bias the second lever
to the first position of the second lever.
8. A lock as claimed in any one of the claims 1 to 3, wherein the
first lever has an L-shape, the end of the first arm forming a hook
portion which faces inwardly of the L-shape and constitutes the
detent means.
9. A lock in particular for an opening element of an automobile,
comprising a pivotal fork member having a projecting portion and
movable between an unlocking position and a locking position, means
for resiliently biasing the fork member towards the unlocking
position, a pivotal lever comprising a bearing surface and movable
between a retaining position and a releasing position relative to
the projecting portion of the fork member, a detent member carried
by the pivotal lever, said lever being part of a detent means, the
fork member having a cam surface which, when the fork member begins
a return movement towards the unlocking position after its
projecting portion has passed the detent member during the closure
of the lock, is cooperable with the bearing surface of the pivotal
lever so as to positively bring the pivotal lever to the retaining
position of the pivotal lever.
10. A lock as claimed in claim 9, wherein the pivotal lever has a
second bearing surface and the fork member has a second cam surface
which cooperates with the second bearing surface of the pivotal
lever during the closure of the lock so as to positively bring the
pivotal lever to the retaining position thereof as soon as the
projecting portion of the fork member has passed the detent
means.
11. A lock as claimed in claim 10, wherein the first and second
bearing surfaces are defined by a single same boss which projects
from the pivotal lever.
12. A lock as claimed in claim 1 or 9, in which the fork member
comprises two successive projecting portions and each cam surface
and the bearing surface associated therewith are adapted to bring
the detent means between the two projecting portions.
13. A lock as claimed in claim 1, wherein the pivotal lever has a
third bearing surface and the fork member comprises a second
projecting portion furnishing a second hooking step onto the detent
means and a third cam surface which is cooperative with the third
bearing surface of the pivotal lever during the closure for
positively bringing the pivotal lever to the retaining position of
the pivotal lever as soon as the second projecting portion of the
fork member has passed the detent means.
14. A lock as claimed in claim 13, wherein the third bearing
surface is elastically yieldable.
15. A lock as claimed in any one of the claims 1 to 2 and 9,
comprising a second lever which is shiftable, a spring for biasing
the second lever to a locking position of the second lever, the
pivotal lever being a lever having two arms, one of which arms
carries the detent means and the other arm may be selectively
released and blocked by the second lever.
Description
The present invention relates to locks employed in particular in
automobile vehicles for closing for example doors, the hood of the
engine or the luggage compartment of these vehicles.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,347,584 discloses a lock or latch comprising a
pivotal fork member movable between an unlocking position toward
which it is resiliently biased and a locking position, detent means
carried by an arm of a pivotal lever having two arms and movable
between a retaining position and a releasing position with respect
to a projection portion of the fork member and biased toward its
releasing position by an unlocking force exerted on the fork
member, and a second lever mounted to pivot between a first
position toward which it is resiliently biased and in which it
blocks the end of the second arm of the first lever when the latter
is in its retaining position, and a second position in which it
releases said end and towards which position it can be shifted.
This arrangement having two levers permits obtaining a reduced
unlocking force. However, in certain applications, in particular
for the closure of automobile doors, it is desirable for easons of
safety that the lock have two locking positions for example as
described in the West German DE-OS No. 2 065 444. Now, the
mechanism of the U.S. patent mentioned before does not permit
obtaining this result since its second lever can only operate once.
Indeed, only the action of the outside control can return this
second lever to the unlocking position when the projecting portion
of the fork member is hooked by the first lever so that it is not
possible to provide the fork member with a second locking
projecting portion.
An object of the invention is to provide a lock or latch of the
same type but having two locking positions. For this purpose, the
invention provides a lock wherein the fork member comprises two
successive locking projecting portions and a cam surface is
provided which cooperates with a projecting portion of the second
lever so as to shift temporarily the second lever to its second
position when the second projecting portion of the fork member
approaches the detent means in the course of the locking movement
of the fork member.
In another aspect of the invention, there is provided a lock of the
type comprising a pivotal fork member movable between an unlocking
position to which it is resiliently biased, and a locking position,
and a detent means carried by a pivotal lever movable between a
retaining position and a releasing position with respect to a
projecting portion of the fork member, this lever being part of a
detent device, wherein the fork has a cam surface which, when the
fork member is biased to the opening position after its projecting
portion has passed the detent means during the closure of the lock
cooperates with a bearing surface of the pivotal lever so as to
positively bring the pivotal lever to its retaining position. This
ensures the hooking of the fork member irrespective of the speed at
which the door or the like is closed and consequently excludes any
risk of a rebound due to the resiliency of the sealing
elements.
Further features and advantages of the invention will be apparent
from the ensuing description which is given solely by way of a
non-limitative example with reference to the accompanying drawings
in which:
FIG. 1 is an elevational view of a lock according to the invention
in the locked position;
FIGS. 2 and 3 are similar views illustrating two stages of the
unlocking of this lock, and
FIG. 4 is a similar view of the unlocked lock.
The lock shown in FIG. 1 in the locked position is contained in a
case or support 1 of a generally parallel-sided shape closed by a
planar roughly rectangular plate. The latter, which is maintained
by three rivets or the like, 2, 3, 4, located in three of its
corners, has not been shown for reasons of clarity. In order to
render the description more convenient, it will be assumed that the
case is vertical and oriented as shown.
Formed in the large left lateral side 5 and in the lower half of at
least the rear side 6 of the case 1 is a horizontal elongated notch
7 which extends nearly to the opposite large lateral side 8 and
terminates in a semi-circular shape. The side 6 has moreover an
aperture 9 in the shape of an arc of a circle centered on the
single rivet 3 located above the notch 7.
The mechanism of the lock comprises a fork member 10 and a detent
device formed by a cranked lever 11 and a straight lever 12.
The fork member 10 has the general shape of an H and is pivotable
about a pin 13 which extends therethrough in the centre region
thereof. The pin 13 is disposed between the aperture 9 and the
notch 7 not far from the closed end of the latter.
On one side of the pin 13, the fork member has two branches 14, 15
which define therebetween a recess 16 having a constant width and
terminating in a semi-circular shape 17. On the other side, there
are two projecting portions 18, 19, which are separated by a hollow
20, the inner end of which is near to the pin 13 and the lower edge
of the aperture 9. The left side, 18.sup.a, 19.sup.a of each
projecting portion 18, 19, defines a ramp or cam the function of
which will be apparent hereinafter, whereas their right side is
roughly radial relative to the pin 13. The outer side 15.sup.a of
the branch 15 is also roughly radial relative to this pin 13.
The left side of the fork member 10, which interconnects the cam
18.sup.a and the surface 15.sup.a, is roughly rectilinear. On the
other hand, its right side which interconnects the projecting
portion 19 and the branch 14 has in its median part a point 21
which defines an upper cam surface 22 and a lower cam surface
23.
The lever 11 has the shape of an L and freely pivots about the
corner of the L shape through which extends the rivet 2 which is
diagonally opposed to the rivet 3. Its shorter branch 24 extends
toward the left substantially to the neighbouring rivet 4 and
terminates in a hook or detent 25 which extends upwardly. Its
longer branch 26 extends roughly vertically to beyond the pin 13
and is generally rectilinear. A boss or stud 27 projects from the
branch 26 roughly at the level of the upper edge of the notch 7 of
the case 1.
The lever 12 is on the whole rectilinear and mounted to pivot about
the rivet 3 at its left end. A lug 28 extends through the lever in
its median zone this lug extending outside the case 1 through the
aperture 9.
A spiral spring 29 wound around the pin 13 bears against a lower
hook portion 30 on the lever 12 and in an aperture 31 of the fork
member 10 and thus permanently biases the lever 12 downwardly and
the branches 14, 15 toward the left.
The lever 12 is in the same plane as the branch 26 of the lever 11.
On the other hand, the fork member 10 is in a different plane and
the branch 24 of the lever 11 comprises a ramp 32 which is inclined
forwardly, which brings the hook portion 25 in the plane of this
fork member. The stud 27 projects into this plane.
In order to describe the operation of this lock, it will be assumed
that it is mounted on the body of a vehicle, for example on the
post of the door. The door is provided with a keeper 33 which, upon
closure, enters the notch 7 along the axis X--X of the latter. The
base 34 of the keeper 33 is cylindrical and has a diameter equal
to, or slightly less than, the width l.sup.1 of the notch. The top
35 is also cylindrical but has a reduced diameter equal to the
width l.sup.2 of the aperture 16 of the fork member (see FIG.
4).
In the illustrated locked position, the keeper 33 is located at the
end 17 of the aperture 16; it is located in the vicinity of the end
of the notch 7, without however touching the latter, and roughly in
vertical alignment with the pin 13 and the lug 28. The hooking face
25.sup.a of the hook portion 25 and the surface 15.sup.a of the
branch 15 of the fork member are roughly vertical and are in
contact. The same is true of the end 12.sup.a of the lever 12 and
the end 26.sup.a of the arm 26. The lever 12 is in the lower
position with its lug 28 bearing against the lower edge of the
aperture 9. The projecting portion 19 and the point 21 of the fork
member are located respectively on the left side of the lug 28 and
above the stud 27.
The compression of the sealing elements of the door, and possibly
an accidental overload, exert on the keeper a force P in the left
direction along the axis X--X. This force creates on the hook
portion 25 a force which is smaller F.sup.2 and roughly horizontal,
the line of action of which passes between the axis X--X and the
rivet 2 at a distance d.sup.2 above the latter. The lever 11
transfers to the lever 12 the force F.sup.1 located above P at a
distance d.sup.1 from the rivet 2 which is much greater than
d.sup.2. The force F.sup.1 =F.sup.2 (d.sup.2 /d.sup.1) is therefore
very small. The surface 12.sup.a of the lever 12 has such shape
than the force F.sup.1 is directed roughly toward the axis of the
rivet 3 but passes slightly below the latter. The force F.sup.1 is
thus slightly inclined to the horizontal. It will be observed that
F.sup.1 creates on the lever 12 a locking torque, that is to say
causes this lever to descend, whereas F.sup.2 creates on the lever
21 an unlocking torque, that is to say tends to withdraw the hook
portion 25. The lengths of contact 25.sup.a -15.sup.a and 12.sup.a
-26.sup.a are minimum bearing in mind the requirements of
construction. In practice they may be on the order of a few
millimeters, for example 4 millimeters.
In order to unlock the lock, the extension of the lug 28 outside
the case 1 is raised by any suitable means (not shown). The energy
required for this raising is very small which allows, apart from a
considerable smoothness of operation and reduced wear, the
possibility of assisting the raising mechanism by an electric motor
or other relatively low power-supply.
As soon as the lug 28 and therefore the lever 12 is raised, the
lever 11 is released; as the force F.sup.2 biases the lever to the
unlocking position, the latter rotates in the counter-clockwise
direction and releases the branch 15. As the lug 28 does not create
an obstacle to the projection portions 18 and 19, the fork member
10 starts to rotate in the clockwise direction, under the combined
actions of the force P and the spring 29. The start of these
unlocking movements is illustrated in FIG. 2. As soon as the branch
15 has travelled beyond the hook portion 25, the ramp 23 of the
fork member engages the upper side 27.sup.a of the stud 27, which
urges the arm 26 rearwardly and positively constrains the lever 11
to rotate in the clockwise direction and resume its hooking
position where the hook portion 25 is in the path of the branch 14
of the fork member. If the lever 12 was then released sufficiently
soon, its lug 28 would fall back into the hollow 20 of the fork
member and consequently block the lever 11, as shown in FIG. 1 and
the lock would remain locked in the safety position or "first
locking position".
This situation can occur in the case of an accidental action on the
shifting means of the lever 12. On the other hand, when this
shifting means is acted upon purposely, the lever 12 does not have
time enough to fall back into the hollow 20. While it is still
raised, the branch 14 engages the hook portion 25 in the same way
as the branch 15 in the preceding stage. As the point 21 has then
travelled beyond the stud 27, the lever 11 once again rotates in
the counter-clockwise direction; the hook 25 allows the branch 14
to pass and the fork member rotates until it abuts by its surface
15.sup.a against the upper edge of the notch 7, which places the
end of the branch 14 in the vicinity of the entrance of this notch
slightly below the axis X--X of the latter.
Then the lug 28, which is released by the shifting mechanism, again
descends under the action of the spring 29. In the course of this
movement, a lower oblique ramp or surface 36 provided in the end
part of the lever 12 encounters the end of the arm 26 and tends to
turn the latter towards the right by creating a torque in the
clockwise direction on the lever 11. Thereafter, the hook portion
25 rises again behind the branch 14 as soon as the latter has
passed it. The lug 28 bears on the base of the ramp 18.sup.a and
the end of the arm 26 of the lever 11 is in contact with that of
the lever 12 with a possible small angular clearance for the arm 26
between this lever 12 and the lateral wall of the case 1. The
opening of the lock is then terminated.
It will be observed that in the assumption of the very brief
accidental action on the lever 12 mentioned above, when this lever
falls back after releasing the branch 15 of the fork member, the
cam 36 on principle engages the end of the arm 26 in the manner
just described and contributes to the return of the lever 11 to the
hooking position. However, in practice, the inertia of the lever 12
has for result that it is the action of the cam 23 on the stud 27
which is essential.
The closing of this lock will now be described.
When the keeper 27 engages the notch 7 (FIG. 4), its top 35 engages
the branch 14 of the fork member and causes the start of the
locking movement of the latter which is a rotation in the
counter-clockwise direction in opposition to the action of the
spring 29. Right from the start of this movement, the ramp 18.sup.a
raises the lug 28 and completely disengages the lever 12 from the
end of the arm 26 also in opposition to the spring 29 slightly
before the end of the branch 14 comes in contact with the inclined
engaging surface 25.sup.b of the hook portion 22.
As the lever 11 is free it can pivot in the counter-clockwise
direction and allow the branch 14 to pass the hook portion 25. As
soon as the branch 14 has passed this hook portion 25, the upper
cam 22 of the point 21 engages the lower side 27.sup.b of the stud
27 and positively obliges the lever 11 to rotate in the clockwise
direction so as to bring the hook portion 25 to the locking
position. At this moment, the lug 28 passes by the top of the
projection portion 18 and falls back toward the lower edge of the
aperture 9 under the action of the spring 29. Note that this
movement is unhindered by the lever 11 and can therefore be carried
out very rapidly, the cam 36 not intervening. Thenceforth, if the
keeper 33 ceases its movement, the lug 28 bears on the lower edge
of the aperture 9 which is rendered possible by the hollow 20 of
the fork member. The lock is then in a first locking position or
"first step locking position".
However, normally, the keeper 33 continues to progress toward the
right; a large part of the sequence of movements described above is
then repeated the branch 15 and the projecting portion 19 with its
ramp 19.sup.a replacing respectively the branch 14 and the
projecting portion 18 with its ramp 18.sup.a. Thus, the ramp
19.sup.a raises a second time the lug 28 then the branch 15 urges
back the hook portion 25, the lug 28 passes by the projecting
portion 19 and the lever 12 falls back. On the other hand, when
this lever 12 falls back, it is this lever which returns the lever
11, under the action of its cam 36 on the arm 26, to the locking
position. Consequently, as soon as the branch 15 pass by the hook
portion 25 under the action of the cam 36, the hook portion rises
again and the two levers 11, 12 are in their initial positions of
FIG. 1. The lock is then in its normal locking position or "second
stage locking position". It is of course for reasons of safety that
two locking stages are provided.
If the door is closed violently, when the branch 15 has passed by
the hook portion 25, the compression of the sealing elements may
produce by a rebound action a reverse rotation (in the clockwise
direction) of the fork member before the lever 11 has time to
return to the position for hooking this branch 15 under the action
of the cam 36, owing to the inertia of the two levers. In this
case, as soon as the branch 15 has passed by the hook portion 25
toward the left, the cooperation of the cam 23 and the stud 27
positively returns the lever 11 to the position for hooking the
branch 14, as described above. The lever 12 is then free to
redescend very rapidly into the hollow 20 so as to lock the lever
11 in this position. The lock is thus locked in a sure manner in
the safety stage.
Tests carried out have shown that such a lock operates in a very
satisfacory manner. However, it will be understood that it is
possible, in a modification (not shown), to provide an additional
cam-stud couple such as 22-27 which, upon closure, positively
brings the lever 11 to the position for hooking the second branch
15 as soon as the latter has passed through the hook portion 25. In
this case, the cam 36 now performs a very secondary function, since
all the movements of the lever 11, in the clockwise direction, are
controlled in a positive and direct manner by the very movements of
the fork member, which clears the downward path of the lever 12.
The additional cam may for example by carried by the branch 14
under the point 21 and be cooperative with a second stud projecting
from the lever 11; this second stud may be resiliently yieldable so
as to take into account the possible different degrees of
penetration of the keeper 33 in the notch 7.
Note that, owing to the gearing-down arrangement of the two levers,
it is possible to construct the lever 12 in a light construction
having low inertia which enables it to fall back extremely rapidly
into the position for locking the lever 11 each time the latter is
brought to the blocking position by a cam-stud action described
above.
By way of a modification, a spring (not shown) could urge the lever
11 to its initial position. Also by way of a modification, the base
of the ramp 18.sup.a could have a low point relative to the pin 13,
in which case the fork member 10 would itself find its equilibrium
in the position of FIG. 4 without abutting necessarily by its
surface 15.sup.a against the wall of the case 1.
It must be understood that the case 1 could be movable and the
keeper 33 fixed and the lock could serve to close other elements,
for example a luggage compartment or an automobile engine hood or
bonnet.
* * * * *